...During the early months of a growing infant, there is an opportunity for optimal attachment to the mother or both parents. This is a crucial time for the baby, during this time the infant will attachment to its parents and forms either a secure attachment, insecure avoidance attachment or insecure ambivalent attachment. Attachment is considered a social concept in childhood development because; it lays the foundation for relationships with parents, siblings, friends and relatives. It also effects whether or not the child will grow up with the ability to hold fulfilling and successful relationships. When a child grows up with a secure attachment to both parents, they tend to have great problem solving skills as well as social skills. It also provides the starting point for the child to grow into a secure individual capable of have strong and stable emotional bonds with others. There are three attachment qualities in the developing child; secure attachment, insecure avoidance and insecure ambivalent attachment. When a child is securely attached to the parent they have a stable emotional bond with the parent. They are upset with the parent leaves however they experience a smaller amount of separation anxiety than the others. Also when the parent returns, the child actively seeks to be near the parent once again. Insecure avoidance attachment is just the opposite; they have anxious emotional bond with the parent and tend to shy away from the parent when he/she returns. A child...
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...feelings. Attachment theory in psychology originates with the seminal work of John Bowlby (1958). In the 1930’s John Bowlby worked as a psychiatrist in a Child Guidance Clinic in London, where he treated many emotionally disturbed children. This experience led Bowlby to consider the importance of the child’s relationship with their mother in terms of their social, emotional and cognitive development. Specifically, it shaped his belief about the link between early infant separations with the mother and later maladjustment, and led Bowlby to formulate his attachment theory. Bowlby defined attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings” Attachment theory has become the dominant theory used today in the study of infant and toddler behavior and in the fields of infant mental health, treatment of children, and related fields. Secure attachment is considered to be the best attachment style. Secure attachment is when children feel secure in the presence of their caregivers. When the caregiver leaves the infant alone, the infant feels separation anxiety. Separation anxiety is what infants feel when they are separated from their caregivers. Anxious-ambivalent attachment is when the infant feels separation anxiety when separated from his caregiver and does not feel reassured when the caregiver returns to the infant. Anxious-avoidant attachment is when the infant avoids their parents. Disorganized attachment is when there is a lack of attachment behavior....
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...of working with 0-3 year olds. The importance of the Key person will be analysed, Boding and attachment and finally the Staffordshire University Graduate attributes. The first topic that will be analysed is the Key person within an Early Years Setting. The Department for Education made it a statutory requirement that every single child much have a key person. DfE EYFS (2017) Every single child must be assigned a key person and this key person must help to ensure that the child’s learning is tailored to meet their needs, that they seek to engage and support parents or carers in guiding their child’s development and even sometimes the key person might help families to access more specialist support if appropriate. (DfE, 2017, p.10) Children of all ages depend upon adults for reassurance and comfort and this will eventually allow then to become independent themselves, the key person helps 0-3 year olds to settle into their new setting. Through the use of a Key person in early years’ settings a crucial bond is formed between the worker and child....
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...Attachment Styles and Relationships Jennifer Oliver PSY/220 Adam Miller Part One When you have two individuals and they share an emotional attachment, we call this an attachment style. According to Bolt (2004), there are three main elements. Care, commitment and closeness. I like to remember them easily by calling them the 3 C’s. Attachment styles start at birth. It is important to realize that although nature and nurture are both important elements that help develop our attachment style they are not the only factors. Our parents, close relatives, even siblings can help us develop our individual attachment style. The first attachment style is closeness, from the time we are infants, we experience either the closeness of our caregivers or the absence of it. Closeness, when we are infants and even in other stages form emotional bonds. It is basic human nature to want to be close to those we feel love for. Infants who are not exposed to closeness in their early development can become anxious and scared. In some cases this is never overcome, in others as the child grows, they may experience other more stable and secure relationships and be able to overcome the closeness issues from their childhood. The second component in attachment style is care. This is a crucial element important to our development. Humans naturally want to feel safe and secure and to know that they are cared for and that there are those who would protect them at all cost. A child...
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...How Insecure Attachment in Early Childhood Impact Romantic Attachments Later in Life Anna Crosby Introduction to Psychology How Insecure Attachment in Early Childhood Impact Romantic Attachments Later in Life The fact that early childhood experiences have significant impacts on later human developments is undisputable. The childhood experiences account for adulthood differences in many aspects of life such as behavior, social skills, cognition, personality, emotional response and romantic relationships among others. Some psychoanalysts argue that early positive childhood experiences play a pivotal role in determining the long term developmental outcomes in adulthood. It also guarantees children protection against subsequent trauma. Early childhood experiences, especially those related to emotions or affection received from other people, induces a sense of organization or a pattern in structural growths that enhance and expand functional capabilities later in life. According to Amato & Keith (2001), these early childhood experiences cultivate development of unique characters and personalities, leading to thriving of adaptive capacities that build resistance of the individual against vulnerabilities and other forms of future pathologies. A certain empirical research revealed that, children, immediately after birth, are endowed with competence as well as social...
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...Attachment Style and Relationships Kathy Schwab PSY/220 July 29, 2012 Edward Billingslea Attachment Style and Relationships Part 1 Robert Sternberg’s triangular theory of love is based on three dimensions: passion, intimacy, and commitment. In Sternberg’s model passion, intimacy, and commitment each represent one side of a triangle describing the love shared by two people. Passion means strong emotion, excitement, and physiological arousal, often tied to sexual desire and attraction. Intimacy refers to mutual understanding, warm affection, and mutual concern for the other person’s welfare. Commitment is the conscious decision to stay in a relationship for the long haul. By putting together different combinations of the three ingredients, Sternberg’s model describes several varieties of love and the specific components of romantic and companionate love (Baumgardner and Crothers, 2009). Romantic love is a combination of intimacy and passion. It is more than infatuation, its liking with the added excitement of physical attraction but without commitment. Companionate love is slow-developing love built on high intimacy and a strong commitment. When youthful passions fade in a marriage, companionate love, based on deep, affectionate friendship provides a solid foundation for a lasting and successful relationship. Fatuous love combines high passion and commitment with the absence of intimacy. The commitment is based on passion and sustained solely by passion....
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...and studies have given me a broader picture of the concept of sensitive mothering, mother and child bonding and their impacts on the social and emotional development of a child. In this essay we will discuss sensitive mothering in relation to attachment theory of John Bowlby together with Ainsworth patterns of attachment. Also, link the concept with Erik Erikson psychodynamic theory and will look into researches on the impact of early attachments on social and emotional development over a life span. Sensitive mothering as explained (Ainsworth et al. (1971) in Meins et al. 2001) is mother’s sensitivity and her positive attitude towards a child. Sensitive mother is able to understand a child’s specific behaviour and respond to his/her needs on time in a proper manner. She is able to establish mother- child communication and can arouse child senses without obstructing child’s own interest and always puts her child first. Sensitive mothering allows emotional attachment, and enables mothers to read child’s emotions and respond to them accordingly. In contrast, in sensitive mother is the one who gives priority to her own schedule and her care is based on her own wish. Thus, she ignores the child’s needs and as a result unable to have an attachment to her child which leads to insecurity and unpredictability so the two of them are not emotionally connected. We typically assume sensitive mothering as a role of mother but it is a caring relationship that can be performed by any one not...
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...Impact of poor attachment on personal development Attachment theory offers an understanding of personality development and behaviour in close relationships and provides an account of the difference in people’s emotional and relationship styles. It relates to how resilient children will become later in life when facing life stressors. In its earliest form, attachment theory concentrated on the dynamics and quality of relationships between children and their parents, but it has since been expanded to cover the lifespan. The clear result seems that early parent-child relationship, and the degree of successful attachment, mediates and influences the course of a person’s development. (Howe, 1995) This essay is based on theories and concepts put forward by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, the two most important people who have influenced the theory of attachment. In this essay I will look at the impact poor attachment has on a person’s development and the reason for choosing to explore this topic, is having developed a keen interest around the influence of poor attachment with my father and the impact it has had on my life in terms of loving, trusting and sexual relationships. Pearce (2009) states that attachment is a term that can be used to describe the dependency relationship a child develops between them and their primary care-givers and progresses throughout the years of their lives. We are not born with attachment but “this special relationship emerges over time and through...
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...Attachment, in dictionary terms, means affection, fondness, or sympathy for someone or something. In psychotherapy, attachment theory refers to how those attachments impact human interpersonal relations. Attachment theory was first conceptualised by John Bowlby, a psychoanalyst who dedicated his time to studying the affectional bonds which form between a child and his primary caregiver. In Segal and Jaffe (2013), the affectional bond is simply but realistically defined as one's first love relationship. Bowlby referred to attachment as a lasting psychological connectedness between human beings. This bond is initially formed by the first attachment figure a person comes across in life. This is in most cases is the mother. In other situations, it may be a father, or where a child is orphaned or put in foster care, it could vary. It refers to anyone who remains in a central role in a child's life for at least the first three to five years. This period is crucial because it is when a child's brain rapidly develops. Bowlby (1984) says that attachment behaviour is most active and overt before the age of three but the need for attachment figures remains throughout life. Bretherton (1985) found that after three, it is less frequent and noticeable as the child gains increased abilities to protect itself and coping skills. Attachment behaviour is however more noticeable during times of exceptional stress. According to Segal and Jaffe (2013), an attachment bond shapes an infant's brain...
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...emotional base. Link this explanation to Bowlby’s attachment theory and Ainsworth’s studies. You will need to show an understanding of the internal working model of attachment and how sensitive mothering impacts on the quality of attachment. (25) - Outline Bowlby’s theory of attachment, showing evidence of how the ethological studies of Harlow and Lorenz, and his own research with war orphans and evacuees and juvenile delinquents impacted his theory. - Determine the phases of attachment and the development of the internal working model of attachment. - Consider Ainsworth’s research and the types of secure and insecure attachments that resulted from the research. - This needs to be linked back to mothering style and the internal working model of attachment that each infant is developing. Links also need to be made to Erikson’s relevant psychological stages of personality development, emphasising the importance of a supportive social environment. (15) - Consider Erikson’s psychosocial theory of personality, especially the first stage, and link to mothering style and the internal working model of attachment that each infant is developing. Consider research that determines how early attachment impacts on the social and emotional development of three to five year olds and adults. (20) - Look at research undertaken with 3-5 year olds and how early attachment impacts social interactions, and also the adult attachment...
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...Hetherington (2006) explains that middle childhood, from 6 to 12 years of age, is frequently recognized as the ‘forgotten years’ of development because most research is focussed on early childhood development or adolescent growth. Throughout middle childhood the opportunity for growth of the social, emotional, physical and cognitive centres is vastly anticipated. Over the course of this time, the brain is performing synaptic refinement and this constantly becoming more efficient although this is greatly dependent upon the environment the child is in. Within this discovery, the pathway is created for the optimisation of experiences that are necessary for the child to give themselves strong building blocks to adulthood. It is pivotal for nurses to have a clear comprehension of human development and behaviour, because each person is a creation of a number of various influential factors. In this essay, normal growth and development in middle childhood will be discussed using examples from influential developmental theorists. According to experts, the life span perspective of human development involves three key developmental domains (Hernandez, 2008). These are the physical domain, the cognitive domain, and the social domain. The physical domain deals with the physical changes that a person goes through. For example, height, shape changes, weight fluctuations, and puberty can all be described as changes that happen in the physical domain. Thinking, the decision making...
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...ADULT ATTACHMENT In 1984, Main and Goldwyn performed an experiment to denote whether early patterns of attachment influence adult relationships and in particular, the attachment with their own children. In this study, each participant under went an Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) where they were asked about both their adult and childhood relationships. Every adult was then classified into four groups so that the attachment with their children could be assessed. They found a link with Ainsworth's study and realised there was a correlation between the infant attachment types and the adult classification. The first classification was dismissing (detached); in this group, people's childhood experiences are not seen as important and neither are personal relationships. Referring back to the link with Ainsworth's study, they found that adults in this classification, usually had infants who were insecurely (anxious-avoidant) attached. The second group was Autonomous (secure), adults in this category thought relationships to be important and both positive and negative experiences were recalled in the AAI with insight into how they influenced themselves - this group was linked with the infant attachment type B - secure. Preoccupied (entangled) was the third group and contained adults who recognised the emotional significance of their past experiences, yet they were often unresolved - their children were found to be insecurely (anxious-ambivalent) attached. Finally, there was the...
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...Influence of Early Life Experiences on Anxiety disorders Anxiety disorder is a mental health description for all forms of uneasiness, excessive worry,and phobias of life events. Such fears can based on events that happened or just imagination and it affects the physical well-being of a person. Different studies have shown that anxiety disorders in different family members overlap. This may be due to the factors experienced while growing up, family factors and genetic transmission. A Childs needs and issues are diverse but a general assessment would indicate that all early experiences can lead to psychological problems. For example, a need to over-achieve, an anxiety disorder of a generalized nature or dysthymic disorder (mood disorder characterized by chronic depression). Such disorders can be traced to a long standing inability to derive satisfaction from one’s life alongside the family issues that worry people, the expectations from the society that leave one apprehensive and a person’s coping strategies which mostly are maladaptive (Corey, 2012). The details do not present a clear diagnosis as to anxiety disorder’s root cause in many cases, hence the need to be cautious when deciding on a therapeutic course of action. Everyone’s unique experiences bring up psychosocial challenges which may become the main focus of the clinical therapies. People may experience phase-of-life issues; present parent-child problems while at the same time having partner...
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...Outline and evaluate research into privation Privation is the failure to develop an attachment bond in early childhood. This can result from losing a parent at child birth. Bowlby does not differentiate between deprivation and privation. Hodges and Tizard’s study was conducted as a longitudinal study in order to collect reliable information linking to early experiences to later outcomes for the same individuals. It was also a natural experiment. The independent variable was how the attachment experience varied naturally. The study consisted of 65 children who had been placed in an institution, where there was an explicit policy against caregivers forming attachments with the children since before they were less than 4 months old, suggesting early privation. By the age of 4, 24 of the children were adopted, 15 returned to their natural homes and the rest remained at the institution. At the ages of 8 and 16, the children who were adopted and those that returned home were interview including their families and friends. Hodges and Tizard found out that the adopted children generally had close attachments to their parents and good family relationships whereas the percentage of children with close attachment with their parent in the children that returned home was much less. However both groups of children were more likely to seek adult attention and approval than the controlled children, and both groups were less successful in peer relationships. This evidence does not support...
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...CHAPTER 11: The Development of Social Relationships 4/16/14 1. How did Bowlby and Ainsworth characterize affectional bonds, attachments, and internal working models? Bowlby and Ainsworth distinguished between an affectional bond and an attachment, which involves feelings of security and having a safe base. An attachment is deduced from the existence of attachment behaviors. Once established, an attachment relationship becomes the basis of an internal working model that the child applies to future interactions with the attachment figure and with others. 2. What factors influence the parent’s bond to the child? For parents to form a strong bond to their infant, what is most crucial is not immediate contact at birth but the development and repetition of mutually reinforcing and interlocking attachment behaviors. 3. How does the child’s attachment to the parent change across infancy, early childhood, and middle childhood? Beginning around 6 months of age, which signals the presence of a clear attachment. Attachment behaviors become less visible during the preschool years, except when the child is stressed. School-aged children exhibit less safe behaviors than infants and preschoolers do, but extended separations can still be stressful. 4. What are the characteristics of parent-child relationships in adolescence? The child’s basic attachment to the parents remains strong in adolescence, despite an increase in parent-child conflict, the greater independence of the teenager...
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